Ferguson Elects Two New Black City Council Members

Ferguson City Council Candidate Ella Jones, (center) reacts with supporters as she learns she won her Ward 1 seat on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at her election party at Drake's Place in Ferguson. (AP Photo/St. Louis Po... Ferguson City Council Candidate Ella Jones, (center) reacts with supporters as she learns she won her Ward 1 seat on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at her election party at Drake's Place in Ferguson. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christian Gooden) MORE LESS
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This post has been updated.

The Ferguson City Council will have three black members for the first time in the city’s history, now that voters elected two new black members to the council on Tuesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Ella Jones (pictured above), chair of Ferguson’s Human Rights commission, and Wesley Bell, a Velda City municipal court judge, won their races in wards one and three, respectively. Jones and Bell will join Dwayne James, the only black member of the Ferguson City Council before Tuesday’s election.

Ferguson saw unusually high voter turnout on Tuesday. According to the Post-Dispatch, 30 percent of the city’s registered voters cast ballots, more than double the average turnout in Ferguson.

Jones and Bell will take their seats on the City Council as Ferguson attempts to replace its city manager and police chief. Following a damning Justice Department report alleging a pattern of racial bias by the Ferguson Police Department, Ferguson City Manager John Shaw and Police Chief Thomas Jackson both resigned.

Correction: The original version of this post made an inadvertent reference to Brian Fletcher, a former Ferguson mayor who won a seat on the city council on Tuesday.

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  1. This is a good start. I wish Ms. Jones and Mr. Bell–and all of Ferguson–the best.

  2. 30% turnout. Yesterday, Rahm was reelected in Chicago, and while turnout was higher than it was in the election that forced the run-off, around 40%, Chuy would have been easily elected had AAs turned out in any numbers. On the radio I heard a candidate from the first round explain it as the electorate being so depressed and hopeless for any real change that the they just don’t bother. This is, of course, exactly what the dominant class is hoping for, as it makes buying any election that much more cost-efficient. It’s a sad state of affairs.

  3. If we’re truly to honor Dr King and those who fought for the Civil Rights Act, this is what we need to be doing.
    When we dont control our own government, we get Fergusons.
    When we do, we have real Democracy.
    Good for the citizens of Ferguson.

  4. That’s nearly a doubling of the normal turnout of 17%. And it’s at least possible that there was unusually low turnout among the white voters who used to be the only ones who were electing city councilmen.

    The real challenge comes next election. With a black majority city council and a fired city manager and police chief, that town isn’t going to be using it’s police department to squeeze revenue out of the majority black population through bogus arrests. So the council is going to have to look at how it’s going to fill that revenue hole. Which means taxes are going up and the white conservatives are going to be filled with rage and outrage and fury and lots and lots of venom at the “moochers” who are buying t-bone steaks and Cadillacs next time.

  5. Lots of challenges for the AAs in Ferguson but hopefully this will be a good start for making real change

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